This invention relates to color picture tubes having tension masks, and particularly to a tube having means for connecting a tension mask, that is made of a material having a relatively low coefficient of thermal expansion material, to a support frame, that has a significantly higher coefficient of thermal expansion.
A color picture tube includes an electron gun for generating and directing three electron beams to the screen of the tube. The screen is located on the inner surface of a faceplate of the tube and is made up of an array of elements of three different color-emitting phosphors. A color selection electrode, which may be either a shadow mask or a focus mask, is interposed between the gun and the screen to permit each electron beam to strike only the phosphor elements associated with that beam. A shadow mask is a thin sheet of metal, such as steel, that is usually contoured to somewhat parallel the inner surface of the tube faceplate.
One type of color picture tube has a tension mask mounted within a faceplate panel thereof. In order to maintain the tension on the mask, the mask must be attached to a relatively massive support frame. Although such tubes have found wide consumer acceptance, there is still a need for further improvement, to reduce the weight and cost of the mask-frame assemblies in such tubes.
It has been suggested that a lighter frame could be used in a tension mask tube if the required tension on a mask is reduced. One way to reduce the required mask tension is to make the mask from a material having a low coefficient of thermal expansion. However, a mask from such material requires a support frame of a material having a similar coefficient of thermal expansion, to prevent any mismatch of expansions during thermal processing that is required for tube manufacturing, and during tube operation. Because the metal materials that have low coefficients of thermal expansion are relatively expensive, it is costly to make both the mask and frame out of identical or similar low expansion materials. Therefore, it is desirable to use the combination of a low expansion tension mask with a higher expansion support frame, and to provide a solution to the problem that exists when there is a substantial mismatch in coefficients of thermal expansion between a tension mask and its support frame.
The present invention provides a color picture tube having a tensioned mask supported by a support frame mounted within the tube. The mask has a significantly lower coefficient of thermal expansion than the frame. Intermediate members are located between the mask and the frame. The intermediate members are of a material having a coefficient of thermal expansion similar to that of the mask. Each of the intermediate members is attached to the frame by a plurality of connectors. Each of the connectors is elongated, and each of the connectors is attached at one end thereof to one of the intermediate members and attached at an opposite end to the frame.